The Silence of the Madoffs

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The FBI profiling group made famous in the movie The Silence of the Lambs is turning its attention to white collar criminals. It’s not that the FBI has grown bored with serial killers, it is more an indication of the growth industry white collar crime seems to have become.

The financial crisis not only was the undoing of Bernie Madoff’s long-running Ponzi scheme, it also brought down Allen Stanford’s empire and exposed dozens of other apparent investment schemes. And, lately, it appears federal authorities in New York keep finding another hedge fund trader who made money from illegal stock tips.

So there’s plenty of work for the FBI to do in trying to put together a composite of potential white collar felon. But there are plenty of skeptics about whether profiling can work for securities fraudsters.

For more on the debate read our Special Report, ” From Hannibal Lecter to Bernie Madoff” in PDF Format: fbiprofiling

Hedge funds cannot be policed because they operate in secret and without regulations. Only after the damage is done can they retroactively be prosecuted but too late for redress for investors. The industry is criminal by nature and should be shut down.